The 4 minute workout

If you’re a busy person or hate spending hours in the gym each week, TABATA training might be for you.

But what exactly is it, and why is it so popular?

Tabata is a specific form of high intensity interval training (HIIT) that involves 8 rounds of extremely high intensity exercise as follows:

Work: 20 seconds

Rest: 10 seconds

Heart Rate: Above 100%

Total Workout Time: 4 minutes

You can apply this tabata formula to almost any exercise – sprinting, cycling, push-ups, burpees, box jumps, kettlebell exercises.

The key to effective tabata training is to ensure your 20 second ‘on’ intervals are at your highest intensity.

I love tabata because I’m often short on time.

My favourite tabata workout:

Sprinting – sprint for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds x 8 times

Skipping – jump for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds x 8 times

8 minutes and you’re done!

Who came up with this?

Tabata was formulated by Japanese scientist Dr Izumi Tabata.

Dr Tabata tested his method on Olympic speed skaters – he put one group on a traditional training regime (one hour of moderate exercise five times a week) and put another group on the tabata regime.

Group 1 did approximately 1800 minutes of training over a 6 week period, compared to the Tabata group who did approximately 120 minutes. Dr Tabata discovered that the 20/10 ‘Tabata’ method was more effective at enhancing aerobic and anaerobic systems and one four-minute session burned the same number of calories as a 60-minute jog!

Note this is not an ideal workout for beginners. Consult your medical practitioner if you have any concerns before giving it a try.

About Author

My ‘real job’ is being a lawyer. I work in entertainment and I love it. I’m also a qualified PT, peanut butter devotee, word junkee and technophobe. When I’m not busy lawyering you‘ll find me gym-ing, sun-seeking or word-smithing.